Reviewed by Hariata M. Chase

I really love fantasy, and Jessica Townsend’s Nevermoor is right up there. The descriptions of the places, characters and clothing make you feel you are there, inside the story. The main character, Morrigan, is like any other teenager simply wanting to try different experiences. She was born on Eventide day, the unluckiest day for any child to be born and, as a result, she’s blamed for all the misfortunes that befall her hometown and its people. Even worse, because she’s cursed, Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday.

Enter a remarkable man named Jupiter North, who whisks her away to Nevermoor. There, she has to compete in four difficult trials to become a member of the Wundrous Society, using some kind of knack or talent that Morrigan doesn’t think she has. Will she find it before it’s too late? She needs to become part of this secret organisation, to find a way to pass each test or leave the city and confront her deadly fate. One hundred children, each with an extraordinary talent, are taking part in the contest.

Morrigan has some lovely relationships with other characters, including Jack, Martha, and Fen, the cat character whom I particularly enjoyed: